Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Sam...the attack cat!

Hello all my furr kid guardians...how has this week treated you so far. It was a bit of a warm day today...I could honestly say that I broke a sweat a few times. One of the steady doggies that I walk Sienna made sure to stop a couple of times during our walk to rest in the cool shaded grass...she's quite cute when she does that.

So, you may be wondering what the story behind the title of this blog is all about. Let me give you a little background about the subject first...many times in the past people have asked me if I had ever been bitten by any of the dogs that are in my care, or if I was ever afraid of any breed of dog...my answer to this is "no, I have neither been bitten or scared of any of the dogs in my care...but I HAVE been bitten and scared of a cat that was in my care". Yes, that's right...your loyal pet sitter was afraid of one particular crazy attack cat. This cat was very scary...he would hide from me when I was in the house, but I could hear his continuous eerie growling from wherever he was hidden away. From time to time I would see his glowing devil eyes glaring at me from his hiding place, which was a good thing, because if I didn't know exactly where he was and walked anywhere near him he would dart out from his hiding place and attack my legs! I know that it sounds fairly humorous, but believe me...it was a scary thing to happen and quite shocking too! So, I have been really lucky over the past years to avoid crazy attack kitties...until now!

I'm watching two kitties for one of my new furr guardians...one of them, (Milo) is one of the cutest kitties I have ever seen...the other one is Sam. Now, Sam is not like the other crazy attack cat that had attacked your loyal pet sitter in the past...Sam is a 13 year old Siamese Boy who's not crazy...just plain cranky! He's not all together thrilled that his furr guardian is gone, and this stranger has entered his home. He keeps at a distance when I enter his domain, and if I dare to get too close he will let me know with a quick hiss or growl. Well, on Monday I made the dreadful mistake of trying to give him treats a bit closer than he was comfortable with, and he snapped! He attacked my leg like it was a team of vicious dogs trying to get at him! Thank goodness I had my legs covered, because it could have gotten ugly! It more startled me than scared me, and afterwards I felt bad for Sam because he was obviously just very nervous and I entered his personal space that he had warned me about in the past visits. So, as of now I give Sam plenty of personal space, and leave his treats close, but not TOO close. I do talk to him, and ask him how his day was, but he doesn't answer...he just sits with me in his sights to make sure I keep an agreeable distance.

Milo is completely the opposite...she ADORES me, and wont leave my side the entire time I'm visiting. The first thing I do is to pick her up and carry her around like a baby...she's a drooler cat; so my arm is usually soaked by the time I put her down. Once I put her down it's like I've done something unacceptable so she weaves in and out of my legs as I try to make my way around the house. After finishing with the food, water and litter I sit on the couch and brush her long beautiful calico fur and try to get the ever-returning mattes out of it without hurting her. She is so adorable, and loves to rub against ANYTHING and usually bangs her head in the process. By the time our visit is over I'm covered in her beautiful fur, and she stands at the door as I walk out and just gives me that "please don't leave" face. Tomorrow is my last visit with them, and I'm sure they will both be thrilled to see their guardian, (especially Sam).

Nanny Elaine finished up with her nearly one month assignment with Oscar the blind Beagle. She said as she drove away from his home she started to ball uncontrollably and misses him SO much. His guardian said that Elaine did an excellent job, although she spoiled him A LOT! She was scared for him to walk down his narrow tall stairs, so she began to carry him up and down the steps rather risking him falling. His guardian said "now he just sits at the top of the steps waiting for me to pick him up"...we can't help spoiling the furr kids sometimes...it's like being a Grandparent.

So, I guess that's it for now, but I will write again in a few days. Until next time give your furr kids a big hug and kiss for me, and tell them that we love them.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Woo...I need a vacation

Hello all my furr kid guardians, how is the week treating you so far? At least the weather has turned around...I actually had to sleep with a sheet on last night! I can tell you that our cats are much happier, although Blackjack has been a bad boy today...he has an obsession with chewing on anything and everything and today his "prey" was one of my houseplants, (you know the one with teeth marks all over the leaves) some ribbon in our closet and last but not least my hands free charger cable! I told him he would be crispy Blackjack if he continued to do that, but I don't think he cares. Well, I since moved it to a place where hopefully he wont find it, although he can be very clever when he wants.

I started to visit Sidney again this week after a nearly 2 month break. His furr guardian hurt his back and had some time off to rest, so Sidney got all sorts of attention. Well, I missed this little guy, and his quirky personality. He is such a funny Guy, and really does have a quirky personality...for example, when he's waiting for a cookie he exhales out of his nose really hard making an almost sneeze like sound. If that doesn't get your attention, he will start "tap dancing" around on the hard wood floors until you look at him...then when he realizes he's going to get one he stands on his back legs and trembles until the tasty morsel is on the ground. I'm not exactly sure what type of breed he is, but I would say he is a Pomeranian mix of some kind, and not to toot my own horn, but he sure adores me! :o)

Nanny Elaine will be finishing up her nearly 0ne month stay at Oscar, the blind Beagles house. I asked her last night if she was sad and she wrote back that she's going to be heartbroken on that last day, and how much she adored Oscar. That's a hard part about being a "Nanny" it's when long assignments end, or if one of our furr kids move away, and of course the worse part is when one of our beloved furr kids passes away. And you know...it's not just rough on us! I used to do weekly walks with a wonderful Boxer named Jackson, and I guess I was his loyal pet nanny for well over a year. Well, one day his guardian said that they would be moving to Oakland at the end of the month and my heart nearly fell out of my chest. On my last day with Jackson I couldn't stop sobbing...and keep in mind that our furr kid clients never see us cry...we're always happy. Well, Jackson became increasingly more concerned about me, and started to lick my leg as we walked. By the time our walk was over I was a mess, and as I closed the door for the last time, he just stood there and watched me with this sad look on his face, as if he were going to burst out crying too. The next day I ran into his guardians, and they told me that Jackson had been up half the night throwing up, and that he was very upset. Of course I felt horrible that my Guy had been so sick, but it also really touched my heart that my Guy was that concerned about me. We have lots of stories like that, and I'm sure you will "hear" more as this blog goes on.

Things are starting to pick up around here, and WOO looking at my calendar it doesn't look like I'll have a day off for some time! Remember my furr guardians to book in advance if you need an overnight visit, and especially around the holidays! Until next time, give your furr kids a big smooch from their loyal pet sitter, and I will talk to you soon!

Friday, July 11, 2008

With tears in my eyes

Hello all my furr kid guardians, how are you today? Have you survived the heat? Today wasn't as bad, but WOO is it HUMID outside! Yuck...feels like I've been slapped in the face with a wet rag.

Don't worry about the title...it's more of a heart felt cry than a sad cry. My friend Seth Casteel with Little Friends Photography (you may remember me mentioning him in a couple of newsletters and e-mails) has been doing volunteer work with Los Angeles City Shelters photographing doggies that need new homes. Well, he posted the most heart-warming video on YouTube that made me burst into tears. He basically has been taking professional shots of homeless doggies, which replace the not-so-great amateur shots taken by shelter folks, and the difference is HUGE. If you want a smile on your face, or a quick little cry you should check the video out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d-0_9r5hj4 It always makes me happy to meet people like Seth or my friend Joanne over at 13th Street Cat Rescue who donate their time, money and life to help homeless kitties and doggies.

Today was a pretty slow day for your loyal pet sitter...I visited my love bug Smush and will be visiting Catalina a little later. We had a last minute Bandit and Zaelen booking, which is okay in our books because they are the NICEST furr kids. Bandit is a little black and white Lasaoodle who has a black band across his eyes...hence the name Bandit. Zaelen is like no cat I've ever met...he is such a cool guy! He loves to be held like a baby, he gives tons of head butts, and follows you around like he's a dog. Sometimes we will say, "get him Bandit" and little Bandit will try and tackle Zaelen...usually getting the short end of the stick. Zaelen also loves drinking out of the bathroom faucet...now I know a lot of kitties do, but he will stick his entire head under the faucet...not caring that his head is drenched when he's done. His guardian told me the story about when she realized he was doing that...she said "I kept noticing that his head would be soaking wet and didn't know how, then I realized that one of our faucets leaked and he would be sitting under it with the drips going right on his head!" Bandit is also a funny little guy; one of my nicknames for his is "skipper-von-skipperbutt" because he does this cute little skip when we're out walking.

Yes, I have lots of nicknames for your furr kids...some make absolutely no sense at all, but I just feel the name when I meet them. My own cat Blackjack has about a million nicknames from Bologna Butt, monkey lips, and The Boob, (which is the most common one) and my Husbands cat’s names from Cornjulio, Cornivorous and Corndog. It's just one of those funny things that I have always done...I wonder if some of the furr kids I watch even realize that what I'm calling them isn't there actual name...hmmmmmm.

I talked to lots of potential new SVPN furr guardians this week, and always enjoy hearing new stories. I also ordered all my give-a-way items for the Bark in the Park, which is September 20th. I think I made some really great choices and hope to see some of you there.

Anyway, I'm off to visit Catalina who is a look-a-like of my beloved Blackjack. But I will gather up some more stories about all my furr kids and talk to you all soon.

Until next time......

Monday, July 7, 2008

It's been a while!

Hello all my furr kid guardians, how was everyone’s 4th of July? I hope everyone stayed safe and you're furr kids were not totally traumatized. I can tell you that our cat Corn spent most of the week hiding in our bathroom...he's not a fan of fireworks, especially those loud M-80's that our neighborhood kids seem to be so fond of. Blackjack is pretty brave, but he too was not thrilled at the loud bomb like blasts. I know that many of you have "kids" that do not handle this time of the year very well, (a few had to be put on tranquilizers) but it's over now...and we have another year to prepare.

Our Nanny schedule was INSANE over the Holiday weekend! Nanny Sam had quite a few visits on the 4th, but said that she liked being busy due to unfortunately losing two of her beloved kitties in the past month! I felt SO horrible for her...losing a furr kid is very difficult and no matter how many times you go through it, it never gets any easier. Nanny Elaine is still with her blind Oscar dog, and is really getting his schedule down to a science...it's a MUCH different experience when you have a blind furr kid in your care. I'm very proud of her, and it just proves to me how she is just meant to work with animals. Nanny Katy was extremely busy over the holiday, but handled it like a champ...not that it surprises me...she is a champ. Nanny Heather finished up with her kitty job, and Nanny Chandel finished up with her bunny and guinea pig visits. As for me...well, I had a much lighter schedule than the rest of the girls, but that's due to me trying to spend more time in the office and less time actually out doing visits. You know how it is when you take a day off of work and when you get in the office the next day it seems like the world has exploded? That's what I'm trying to avoid.

This is week is going to be bitter/sweet for me...sweet because I get to visit Scooter again! Remember Scooter...the little kitten with paralysis in his back legs? Well, my client is babysitting him again and since I'm doing a pet taxi for her doggy, I get the pleasure of spending some time with the little guy! Bitter because it's going to be SUPER HOT this week! They are predicting temperatures close to 104!!!!!! This weather again, is not good for your furr kids or your loyal pet sitters, but remember to keep lots of fresh water out for your kids and we will make sure to have lots of "nanny water" for us. I must admit, I do enjoy visiting those guardians homes that have air conditioning...it's a nice treat for your loyal pet sitters.

Well, I guess I better go and get ready to visit some of your furr kids. I wanted to make sure to mention that if you're looking for something fun to do this coming weekend, (12th and 13th) the annual Obon festival is going on in Japantown...it's a lot of fun, and you may even run into your loyal pet sitter hoping to win in the bingo tent.

Until next time!